


Such a Sweet Way to Die

by bittersweetsymphonia



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, also bad!pearl, but yeah just throwing it out there, fyea, i do not do weed, so yeah might not be accurate, well it wasn't exactly put into detail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-04-11 00:31:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4413941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bittersweetsymphonia/pseuds/bittersweetsymphonia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Her hands itched to touch the universe.</p><p>Peridot's eyes slipped shut, and she allowed Pearl to entwine their hands together.</p><p>[Pearlidot ft. Bad!Pearl]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Such a Sweet Way to Die

**Author's Note:**

> I am Pearlidot trash.
> 
> This is a shameless plug but follow me on tumblr and maybe send me prompts if you want. My url is peribaerito.

 

Yellow Diamond was going to kill her.

That just about summed everything about the mess Peridot found herself in.

The task assigned to her had been simple enough: send her Robonoids to an obscure formerly gem-controlled planet to fix the Homeworld warp, travel to Earth and check on the Cluster, then head back to Yellow Diamond and report her findings. It wasn't the most exciting of jobs in the roster, but someone had to do it. Unluckily for her, Peridot had drawn the short straw.

It was supposed to be an in-and-out job, but nothing every went right when it came to Peridot.

Those stupid clods just had to keep destroying her stuff and always getting in the way of her doing her job.

Didn't they understand the consequences that Peridot would have to face if she came back to the Homeworld empty handed? Again? Yellow Diamond wouldn't show her the same act of mercy she had done before.

Jasper was supposed to make her job leagues easier, but now she was stuck at the bottom of the ocean fused to their informant.

And Peridot? Well she was stuck without her ship and a way to get home in a planet that was as good as a ticking time bomb. All she wanted was to get her job done, and head back home.

“Is that all you're taking this time?”

The hushed voices used to cause Peridot to jump and ready her blaster, but after the weeks she'd been stranded on this miserable planet, she'd learned that they meant nothing as long as they weren't directed at her. That was just how humans spoke when they went about their business in sleazy back alleys. Sleazy back alleys that had been the only form of haven Peridot found since her crash. After all, what place would take in an alien space rock that had nothing on her but her gem and brains?

“It's all I need.”

That voice, though? That voice wasn't human. Peridot knew that voice, and she feared it. She knew she shouldn't, but Peridot rose from her makeshift work table and peeked from the corner to the transaction being made. Sure enough, a Crystal Gem.

Fear crept into Peridot's system like a virus and her legs wanted to run, but there was something odd about this gem. She was unlike the one she'd seen before, but the elongated gem on her head informed Peridot that it was still the same one. The pearl. The prim and proper defective pearl.

Prim and proper didn't seem like appropriate words to describe the gem Peridot couldn't take her eyes off of.

The tall figure stood there, eyes hooded and tired as she took the brown paper bag from her cloaked companion before handing in a stack of paper bills that humans used for barter. The leather jacket that hugged her figure felt odd to Peridot, but the Pearl was as comfortable in them as Peridot was with her prosthetics. As the cloaked dealer slinked off, the Pearl remained.

Peridot took that as her cue to flee. She had no idea what the Cystal clods would do to her once she was caught, and she wasn't meaning to find out. She turned away from the sight and prepared to scale the wall behind her, but in her haste, she forgot to look at where her feet were. A step forward on top of a can that had dropped from the nearby dumpster sent Peridot to her back on the cruddy ground below.

Shaking her head at herself, she moved to get up, only to find that a delicate foot placed firmly atop her shoulder kept her down. Unconsciously, she took an audible gulp, already knowing who the owner of the foot was before she even raised her eyes to look.

“H-Hey.”

A frown was etched on Pearls face as she regarded Peridot. It would be so easy to draw her weapon now and bubble her gem. She could bring it home like a trophy, and maybe then... Pearl shook away the thoughts and placed more pressure on her foot, earning a pained squeak from the gem below her.

“Peridot,” she greeted. Said gem blinked back up at her, confused that there was no hint of malice in Pearl's voice. If she thought hard about it, there wasn't much hint of any emotion on the gem's voice.

“Peridot,” Pearl repeated, leaning forward to catch green eyes with her own. “You're literally caught between a rock and a hard place right now, aren't you? Isn't that something?” Her lips twitch the tiniest bit with amusement at her own words before putting more pressure on Peridot's arm.

“G-Get off me, you clod!” the Homeworld tech all but screamed as she attempted to push Pearl's foot off of her body. She wasn't built for fighting, and the gem above her had had years of training. She was stronger.

Pearl clicked her tongue. “You're not really in the position to be making orders, Peridot.”

Peridot knew that Pearl was right, but she wasn't about to let herself get captured. She'd already messed up too much. A hand gripped Pearl's leg and Peridot felt the electricity buzzing through her arm, ready to be unleashed on the appendage in her grasp.

Before she could do so, she found herself off the ground and thrown against the wall, a tight rope wrapped securely around her body. She blinked back up at her opponent, noticing the way Pearl's gem still glowed – probably from when she'd conjured up the rope just moments earlier.

Peridot slumped to the ground. There was no escape pod to run to. She couldn't electrocute her way out of the ropes. Her fingers had been tied up, not even allowing her a chance to fly away. This Pearl had learned, and Peridot didn't like what that meant for her one bit.

“You don't need to look so scared,” Pearl commented as she took in the little hub Peridot had created in one of the alley's nooks. “I'm not going to kill you.” Her lips curled down in a grimace as she noticed that the only place to properly sit on was the cockroach infested mattress, but still plopped down on it regardless.

“Like I believe that,” Peridot spat back. She was squirming, trying to find a way to wriggle out of her bounds.

Pearl watched with mild amusement playing in her eyes. She wasn't going to waste time convincing her prisoner. She just didn't have the energy for that. It was better to let her squirm and struggle since Pearl knew there was no chance that Peridot would break free. Instead, she grabbed the paper bag she'd dropped earlier and pulled out a baggie from inside. Just one look ensured Pearl that they were the usual high quality stuff she always bought from her dealer, and a thirst inside of her couldn't wait to get them in her system once more. She wasted no time and grabbed the skins from inside the paper bag and began to create rolls on Peridot's makeshift table.

“What is that?”

The curiosity in the usually cynical voice made Pearl look up. Peridot had finally settled against the wall, seemingly accepting that all her efforts were futile, and was looking at the blunt in between Pearl's fingers. “This?” At the nod from Peridot, Pearl raised the joint higher so that Peridot could see. “This is my escape.”

“An escape? Aren't you living the high and mighty life with the Crystal Clods?”

An arched brow and a withering glare was all Pearl's response was before she conjured a small metal device from her gem. It was something foreign – something Peridot couldn't understand – and when fire erupted from the tiny device, a terrified squeak escaped from her lips.

Pearl couldn't help the amused smirk that rose to her face. “I'm assuming Homeworld technology hasn't touched the topic of lighters yet.”

“Lighters?” Peridot inquired, eyeing the device warily. “What do you plan to do with it?”

“Relax,” Pearl muttered as she brought the blunt to her lips and lit the end, taking a deep hit. Her eyes slid shut as the drug entered her system – feeling calm for the first time in a while. She breathed out, releasing the smoke from between her lips.

“What are you doing?”

Pearl chose to ignore the voice, and took another hit.

“Stop that at once!”

Her eyes slid shut as she settled on the mattress, letting the drug chase her worries away.

“Don't ignore me, you clod!”

Her eyes snapped open and the small smile on her lips was replaced by a prominent frown.

“For the love of Yellow Diamond, at least untie me!”

This was not what Pearl planned when she left home that morning. It was becoming clear that no matter how hard she attempted to ignore the green pest, she wouldn't have the peace she so sincerely yearned.

“Why did I think a lost, defective Pearl would even–”

A fist slammed against the wall, exactly an inch away from Peridot's face. A shadow loomed over her and she knew that she'd said too much. She really needed to work on rearing back her words, but the memo was lost on the gem as she stared up at furious blue eyes. Once again, she found herself squirming against the ropes, the feeling of dread hanging over her like a cloud.

This gem had killed before, and if Peridot didn't get out of there, she could suffer the same fate.

“Honestly,” Pearl began, inching closer towards Peridot, “will you shut up?” The joint touched her lips again and she took a hit, letting the smoke fester in the confines of her mouth before breaking the distance between her and the tied up gem. The sheer surprise from the contact elicited a gasp from Peridot, allowing Pearl to exhale the smoke into the other gem's mouth.

Peridot could feel the smirk on Pearl's lips as the Cystal Gem broke the contact. With wide eyes, Peridot allowed the smoke to leave her lips. She tried to form words – to insult Pearl in some way just to get her head back in the game – but for the first time in a while, she's left tongue-tied.

Pearl leant back to watch her work with a playful smirk. “See? You're not so bad when you're quiet like that.”

Peridot shook her head, as if to clear her mind, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get rid of it. It was something indescribable, something that seemed to have seeped in her skin like little sparks of electricity. Something warm. Something that she'd never been briefed on.

“Did you-” she began, her voice cracking as a cough rose up her throat. “Did you poison me?”

Pearl allowed a low chuckle to slip through as she checked the blunt in her hands. It would last two more hits, and the temptation to take them all to herself was strong. A glance at her tied-up prisoner brought to life a new idea. Squatting down in front of Peridot, Pearl couldn't help the almost ravenous grin on her lips. “This little roll of joy might be poisonous to humans, but to us gems, it's nothing but a momentary satisfaction.”

Peridot averted her gaze and tried desperately to get her finger to reach her arms – to scratch away the incessant itch. “This is unacceptable. Release me at once!”

Pearl arched a brow as she extended her the joint towards Peridot. “Here. Relax. You're too uptight.” Another smirk. “And that's something coming from me.”

Peridot eyed the blunt with a cautious gaze. A quick glance towards Pearl offered a challenging arch of a brow, and Peridot huffed. “Fine.” Her lips parted and, despite the greenish tint on her cheeks, Pearl had to admit she still had an air of haughtiness about her.

She liked that.

– – –

“I made a terrible mistake.”

Pearl's hand raised towards the heavens, tracing patterns in the stars littering the night sky. Peridot's head turned towards her, a confused glint in her eyes. Everything felt heightened, and her mind buzzed as she awaited Pearl's answer.

The empty paper bag sat atop their heads.

Pearl's hand fell back to her side. “I used you to trick Garnet into fusing with me.”

At the mention of fusion, Peridot couldn't help how her lips turned down in disgust. The notion that fusion was nothing but a disgusting act between gem had been drilled into her mind ever since she was first spawned, and she knew no other opinion about the matter prior to her arrival to Earth. Still, she kept her thoughts to herself, and waited for Pearl to continue.

“When we saw the message you sent out to Yellow Diamond, Garnet and I fused into Sardonyx to destroy the Communications Hub that your rebuilt. Being Sardonyx was...” Pearl's hands clenched at her sides. “It was exhilarating. Being so strong... Being part of something strong. That's the greatest feeling a Pearl can have. It's nothing compared to the little high these drugs provide.

“And I didn't want it to stop. I wanted to be Sardonyx again – to feel like I'm strong enough.”

Peridot propped herself up on her elbow. “So you rebuilt the Communications Hub?”

Nodding, Pearl offered the other gem a small smile. “I thought if I could just fuse with her one more time, I'd get it out of my system. But it wasn't enough. It was never enough.”

“I suppose not even gems are free from addiction.”

“I suppose so.”

Silence fell over them with Peridot chewing on her lower lips, deliberating her next words.

“I'm scared.”

That wasn't what Pearl expected to leave Peridot's lips. “You? Afraid?”

Peridot shrugged before she settled back beside Pearl. “Yellow Diamond will kill me if I return back to Homeworld. I lost both my escort and informant. I crashed the ship.” She threw a cheeky smile towards Pearl. “I got caught by rebel gems.

“Yellow Diamond will kill me.”

Pearl was well aware of how ruthless the Diamond Authority could be. They smashed gems without second thought. If you failed to serve your designated purpose, then you're nothing more than a useless clod to them, and you were to be disposed of. Pearl had never been to a public execution on the Homeworld before, but she'd heard enough stories to know how thinks happened.

They would destroy your gem while you still had your physical form.

Just thinking about it was sending shivers down her spine. She could only imagine how Peridot must feel.

Blue eyes searched for green. “Then why send the signal?”

“I'm just doing my job.”

Pearl could feel it bubbling up inside her. It had been festering since the moment she first saw the vulnerability behind that proud smirk. It's something warm – something that spreads throughout her body. She wants to curl up into herself – to retreat back inside her gem just to be free of that heat.

Her eyes shift from the gem beside her to the stars. The stars that she'd yearned to return to for so long. The stars that Peridot dreaded but knew was inevitable. The stars that had changed so much since Pearl left them, but the undercurrent of corruption and chaos remained.

Why had she wanted to return? Why did Peridot want to return?

Her hands itched to touch the universe.

Peridot's eyes slipped shut, and she allowed Pearl to entwine their hands together.

Pearl followed suit, thinking about how Peridot may be right. Maybe those drugs had been poisoned. It itched. It burned.

“Stay.”

It was such a sweet way to die.

 


End file.
